1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to controlling and activating satellite media service receivers and more specifically to controllers combining wireless control of satellite media service receivers with transmission of service activation requests for the controlled satellite media service receiver.
2. Description of Related Art
Advances in technology have caused advances in subscription radio services that provide radio services to radio receivers, referred to herein as a subscription receivers, that require activation prior to operation. An example of such a subscription radio service is Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS), including system operated by Sirius Satellite Radio, Incorporated and XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Incorporated. In the example of SDARS, a specialized subscription receiver is purchased and the user pays a monthly Subscription fee to maintain activation of the subscription receiver and to thereby be able to receive the programming available through the subscription radio service. These radios are commonly mounted in motor vehicles, homes, offices and other places where audio entertainment is desired.
In order for a user to enjoy subscription radio services in more than one location or installation, the user has limited choices. The user can utilize a portable subscription receiver that can be carried and mounted at the various locations, often using a specialized mounting base or other installation to facilitate use and movement of the portable subscription receiver among the multiple locations. Carrying this portable subscription receiver can be inconvenient for the user. Another option is to purchase and activate a separate subscription receiver for each location. Although a user may be willing to purchase multiple receivers, the user may not want to pay the recurring subscription charge required to keep all of the radios activated. A user owning multiple subscription receivers will also be required to configure each of these subscription receivers with his or her preferences, such as preset channels, favorite songs, volume settings, and the like. This can be time consuming and discourages a user from changing these configuration items. Further, the configuration of the user preferences programmed into each of the multiple receivers may become different from one another, such as having different preset channels and the like, as the user changes these on one subscription receiver and not the others. This can lead to confusion and frustration for the user who will not be sure of which received channel corresponds to the various channel preset selections of each subscription receiver.
Therefore a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.